The Ruler of Your Rising Sign

Have you ever wondered why your rising sign doesn't seem to fully suit you? One reason might be the influence of your ascendant ruler, a planet that governs your rising sign. If the ascendant and the ruler of the ascendant are in different signs, you will get a blend of energy from the two signs. Some of you will have the ruler of your ascendant in the same sign which makes your ascendant placement more potent or saturated.

Each sign has a unique combination of an element and a quality, giving it a distinct energy. In traditional astrology, the luminaries rule one sign each and the visible planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, each rule two signs.

Sign	Ruler	Element	Quality
Aries	Mars	Fire	Cardinal
Taurus	Venus	Earth	Fixed
Gemini	Mercury	Air	Mutable
Cancer	Moon	Water	Cardinal
Leo	Sun	Fire	Fixed
Virgo	Mercury	Earth	Mutable
Libra	Venus	Air	Cardinal
Scorpio	Mars	Water	Fixed
Sagittarius	Jupiter	Fire	Mutable
Capricorn	Saturn	Earth	Cardinal
Aquarius	Saturn	Air	Fixed
Pisces	Jupiter	Water	Mutable

Qualities

Quality	Keywords
Cardinal	Good at starting things, reactive, responsive, leaders, ambitious
Fixed	Stable, stubborn, loyal, consistent, reliable, dislikes change
Mutable	Goes with the flow, flexible, malleable, scattered, dual-natured, curious

Elements

Element	Keywords
Fire	Active, motivated, uplifting, chaotic, enthusiastic, passionate
Earth	Grounded, calm, consistent, stable, practical, sensual
Air	Conversational, thinker, intellectual, social, inquisitive, objective
Water	Emotional, private, shy, sensitive, intuitive, empathetic

1. If you don't already know what your rising sign is, it is in the 1st house and usually designated with "As," "Ac," or "Asc" in your chart. If the chart scares you, most programs and websites also have a list of your placements.

2. Find your rising sign in the above list to get your ruling planet.

3. Now find your ruling planet in your chart. Note what sign it is in.

4. Combine the keywords of these signs to understand the essence of your rising sign.

   
   

For example, if you have a Scorpio rising, you would find where Mars is placed. Let's say that Mars is in Libra. So your rising sign would be a fixed-water energy, and its ruler is in a cardinal-air sign. Mix those two together and you get a new view of your ascendant. Water and air like togetherness and connection. Fixed signs are comfortable and content where they're at, but cardinal signs are ambitious and like to start new things. So someone with this sign combination might enjoy deep, intimate connections rather than many surface level acquaintances. There might be a conflict within them of wanting to try new things and wanting to stay in their comfort zone, but once they push themselves and get going they can make some change and progress. This might look like wanting to start a new job or career in a field they love but being content and comfortable with their current profession.

Try it out for yourself. What kind of vibes does your ascendant sign - ascendant ruler sign combination bring to your chart?

You can do this with any planet or point in your chart to see what kind of general energy your placements have. Of course, astrology is never black and white, and other factors like aspects can influence these energies.